Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy,[1] is a subgenre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus mainly on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters.[2]

A film genre tangentially related to sword and sorcery, at least in name, is sword-and-sandal, though its subjects are generally oriented to biblical times and early history, instead of fantasy. Not to be confused with cloak and dagger or cloak and sword, which are alternate genres.

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The term "sword and sorcery" was first coined in 1961, when the British author Michael Moorcock published a letter in the fanzine Amra, demanding a name for the sort of fantasy-adventure story written by Robert E. Howard. He had initially proposed the term "epic fantasy". However, the celebrated American sword-and-sorcery author Fritz Leiber replied in the journal Ancalagon (6 April 1961) suggesting, "sword-and-sorcery as a good popular catchphrase for the field". He expanded on this in the July 1961 issue of Amra, commenting:

I feel more certain than ever that this field should be called the sword-and-sorcery story. This accurately describes the points of culture-level and supernatural element and also immediately distinguishes it from the cloak-and-sword (historical adventure) story—and (quite incidentally) from the cloak-and-dagger (international espionage) story too! (Fritz Leiber, Amra, July 1961)

Though not explicitly mentioned in Leiber's letter, the originally Italian film genre known as "sword and sandal", depicting heroic adventures in settings derived from the Bible or Greek mythology, was at the peak of its popularity in the US at the time when the letter was written.

Since its inception, many attempts have been made to redefine precisely what "sword and sorcery" is. Although many have debated the finer points, the consensus characterizes it by a strong bias toward fast-paced, action-rich tales set within a quasi-mythical or fantastical framework. Unlike high or epic fantasy, the stakes tend to be personal, the danger confined to the moment of telling.[3] Settings are typically exotic, and protagonists often morally compromised.[4]

Many sword and sorcery tales have been turned into a lengthy series of adventures. Their lower stakes and less-than world-threatening dangers make this more plausible than a repetition of the perils of epic fantasy. So too does the nature of the heroes; most sword-and-sorcery protagonists, travellers by nature, find peace after adventure deathly dull.[5] At one extreme, the heroes of E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros grieve for the end of the war and that they have no more foes equal to those they defeated; in answer to their prayers, the gods restore the enemy city so that they can fight the same war over again.[6]

The subgenre has old roots. Ultimately—like much fantasy—it draws from mythology and classical epics such as Homer's Odyssey and the Norse sagas.

It is also influenced by historical fiction, begun by Sir Walter Scott, under the influence of romantic collection of folklore and ballads.[7] However, very few of his works contain fantastic elements; in most, the appearance of such is explained away,[8] but in its themes of adventure in a strange society, this led to the adventures set in foreign lands by H. Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs.[9] Haggard's works included many fantastic elements.[10]

Sword and sorcery proper only truly began in the pulp fantasy magazines, where it emerged from "weird fiction."[15] Particularly important was the magazine Weird Tales, which published Howard's Conan stories and C. L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry tales, as well as such important S&S influences as Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith.

Charles Saunders' Imaro novels, beginning with Imaro (1981), a collection of short stories first published in the seventies for Dark Fantasy fanzine. Notable for being the first notable black sword and sorcery protagonist.

Other pulp fantasy fiction—such as Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series and Leigh Brackett's Sea Kings of Mars—have a similar feel to sword and sorcery, but, because alien science replaces the supernatural, it is usually described as planetary romance or sword and planet, and considered to fall more in the area of science fiction.[20] Despite this, planetary romance is closely aligned with sword and sorcery, and the work of Burroughs, Brackett, and others in the former field have been significant in creating and spreading S&S proper.[21] Sword and sorcery itself has often blurred the lines between fantasy and science fiction, drawing elements from both like the "weird fiction" it sprang from.[22]

From the 1960s up till the 1980s, under the guiding force of Lin Carter, a select group of writers formed the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA) to promote and enlarge the sword and sorcery genre. From 1973 to 1981 five anthologies featuring short works by SAGA members were published: edited by Carter, these were collectively known as Flashing Swords!. Because of these and other anthologies (such as the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series), his own fiction, and his criticism, Carter is considered one of the most important popularizers of genre fantasy in general, and S&S in particular.[23]

Despite such authors' best efforts, sword and sorcery has more colloquially come to be known as a catch-all phrase for low grade, derivative fantasy as well as fiction written in such universes. During the 1980s, influenced by the success of the 1982 feature film Conan the Barbarian many cheaply made fantasy films were released that came to be derisively known as "Sword & Sorcery". The term is sometimes used in a derogatory manner by writers and readers of the fantasy genre.

After the boom of the early 1980s, sword and sorcery once again dropped out of favor, with epic fantasy largely taking its place in the fantasy genre. However, the end of the 20th century saw another resurgence of S&S. Sometimes called the "new" or "literary" sword and sorcery, this development places emphasis on literary technique, and draws from epic fantasy and other genres to broaden the typical scope of S&S. Stories may feature the wide-ranging struggles national or world-spanning concerns common to high fantasy, but told from the point of view of characters more common to S&S and with the sense of adventure common to the latter. Writers associated with this include Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, and Scott Lynch, and magazines such as Black Gate and the ezines Flashing Swords (not to be confused with the Lin Carter anthologies) and Beneath Ceaseless Skies publish short fiction in the style.[24][25] These authors and editors are attempting to return the genre to the status it enjoyed during the pulp era of the twenties and thirties.[citation needed]

Despite the importance of C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Andre Norton, and other female authors, as well as Moore's early heroine, sword and sorcery has been characterized as having a strongly masculine bias. Female characters were generally distressed damsels to be rescued or protected, or otherwise served as an inducement or reward for a male hero's adventures. Women who had adventures of their own often did so to counter the threat of rape, or to gain revenge for same.[26][27]Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress anthology series (1984 onwards) attempted the reverse. Bradley encouraged female writers and protagonists: the stories feature skillful swordswomen and powerful sorceresses, working from a variety of motives.[28][29] The series was immensely popular and Bradley was editing her final volume at the time of her death (the series continued under other editors). Jessica Amanda Salmonson similarly sought to broaden the range of roles for female characters in S&S through both her own stories and in editing the World Fantasy Award-winning[30]Amazons (1979) and Amazons II (1982) anthologies; both drew on real and folkloric women warriors, often from areas outside of Europe.[31][32] Today, active female characters who participate equally with the male heroes in the stories are a regular feature in modern sword and sorcery stories.

Early sword and sorcery writer Robert E. Howard had feminist views despite his era and location, which he espoused in both personal and professional life. Howard wrote to his friends and associates defending the achievements and capabilities of women.[33][34] Strong female characters in Howard's works of fiction include the protofeminist Dark Agnes de Chastillon (first appearing in "Sword Woman", circa 1932–34); the early modern pirate Helen Tavrel ("The Isle of Pirates' Doom", 1928), as well as two pirates and Conan the Barbarian supporting characters, Bêlit ("Queen of the Black Coast", 1934) and Valeria of the Red Brotherhood ("Red Nails", 1936).[35][36]